Not Applicable
The present invention relates to an integrated U-tube and adsorbent unit for an accumulator of an automotive air conditioning system.
By way of background, insofar as known, in the past a refrigerant accumulator used in an automotive air conditioning system comprised a housing which contained a U-tube and a separate adsorbent unit associated therewith. The adsorbent unit, in the past, could have been of various shapes and sizes and could have been secured to the U-tube in many different ways. However, insofar as known, the prior art did not disclose an integrated U-tube and adsorbent unit wherein the adsorbent unit was an integral part of the U-tube. Also, insofar as known, in the past a separate filter construction was mounted on the return bend of a U-tube to filter the oil which was induced into the return bend. The addition of such a filter construction added costs which resulted from the additional material and labor. Also, insofar as known, in the past refrigerant tracer dye was generally placed directly in the adsorbent unit of an accumulator of an automotive air conditioning system.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an integrated U-tube and adsorbent unit wherein the adsorbent unit is an integral and inseparable part of the U-tube.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an integrated U-tube and adsorbent unit which can be fabricated by a simple fabrication technique wherein the space between the legs of the U-tube contains adsorbent which is restricted therein by covers bonded to the outer sides of the U-tube.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an integrated U-tube and adsorbent unit which does not require the assembly of a separate U-tube and adsorbent unit after they are individually fabricated incidental to installing them in the housing of an accumulator.
A further object is to provide an improved method of fabricating a U-tube having an integral adsorbent unit.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved U-tube having an unique filter construction.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved U-tube construction which includes a separate compartment which contains refrigerant tracer dye. Other objects and attendant advantages of the present invention will readily be perceived hereafter.
The present invention relates to an integrated U-tube and adsorbent unit comprising a U-tube having first and second legs and a return bend, a space between said first and second legs, adsorbent in said space, and at least one permeable cover bonded to said legs.
The present invention also relates to an integrated U-tube and adsorbent unit comprising a plastic U-tube having first and second plastic legs and a plastic return bend, a plastic cover, adsorbent confined by said plastic cover, and said plastic cover being fused to said plastic U-tube.
The present invention also relates to a method of fabricating an integrated U-tube and adsorbent unit comprising the steps of providing a U-tube having legs and a return bend with a space between said legs and first and second opposite sides on said legs, providing a first cover on said first sides of said legs, placing adsorbent between said legs, and bonding a second cover to said second sides of said legs.
The present invention also relates to a U-tube comprising spaced legs and a return bend, an oil pick-up hole in said return bend, a frame formed integrally with said return bend to define a space in communication with said hole, and filter material bonded to said frame on the opposite side of said space from said hole.
The present invention also relates to a refrigerant tracer dye construction comprising a tube, and a refrigerant tracer dye compartment on said tube.
The various aspects of the present invention will be more fully understood when the following portions of the specification are read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: